RICHMOND, VA. — Cushman & Wakefield | Thalhimer’s Capital Markets Group has arranged the sale of Gold’s Gym Plaza in Richmond. An entity doing business as Seminole Trail Annex LLC acquired the property for $13 million. Catharine Spangler of Cushman & Wakefield | Thalhimer represented the sellers, West Tower LLC and SugarOak Investments, in the transaction. Located at 8900 West Broad St., the property spans 124,275 square feet across five buildings. The center is currently fully leased and co-anchored by Gold’s Gym and Regal Cinemas, which have occupied space at the property for 40 and 19 years, respectively. The 44,000-square-foot box anchored by Regal Cinemas and an adjacent parking lot are subject to a ground lease.
Retail
NASHUA, N.H. — Boston-based brokerage firm Atlantic Capital Partners has negotiated the sale of 270 Amherst Street, a 39,750-square-foot shopping center located near the Massachusetts-New Hampshire border in Nashua. Anchored by German discount grocer Aldi, the property was 86 percent leased at the time of sale. Justin Smith, Sam Koonce and Molly Lynch of Atlantic Capital Partners represented the seller, Saxon Partners, and procured the buyer, Linear Retail, in the transaction.
Three Keys for Shopping Center Owners to Remember When Protesting Property Tax Assessments
by John Nelson
Property owners should receive a Notice of Appraised Value from their appraisal district by mid-April. This year, it is imperative that retail property owners submit an assessment protest prior to the deadline and help to establish fair taxable valuations in the post-pandemic marketplace. Since March 2020, COVID-19 has brought uncertainty and ongoing challenges to real estate owners. People often discuss the commercial real estate “winners and losers” of COVID-19, and of the four commercial real estate food groups, retail certainly suffered one of the heaviest initial blows. But how has the property type recovered as the pandemic has evolved? This article explores where exactly retail falls, and then offers strategies to argue more effectively for reduced assessments. Evolving trends To develop a full picture of the current state of shopping centers, one must look back to 2019 and early 2020 before the pandemic. In 2018, approximately 5,800 retail stores closed nationwide and only 3,200 opened, for an overall deficit of 2,600 locations. In 2019, the size of the annual store deficit nearly doubled with 5,000 more closures than openings. E-commerce sales volume rose steadily from 2010 through 2019, which, coupled with accelerating physical store closures, clearly indicate a slowdown in …
By Glenn R. Rudy, Senior Managing Director, Retail Capital Markets, Newmark We all know the commercial real estate industry is cyclical and there are casualties in every cycle across asset classes. However, retail seems to always be in everyone’s crosshairs. It quite frequently is the tail wagging the dog across institutional investors. Consider this, though: if there is one thing the pandemic has proven (once again), it is that the retail sector as a whole is one of the most resilient in the industry. Nowhere in the country is this statement more evident than here in Orange County. While investment sales activity was sluggish overall in 2021, picking up largely in the fourth quarter, retail leasing activity was record breaking. Annual net absorption turned positive after nine consecutive quarters of losses. Vacancy rates have not yet returned to pre-pandemic levels, but rent growth has reach a new all-time high as of year-end 2021. Tenants and landlords were both motivated to sign leases in 2021 to satisfy the increased market demand from consumers yearning to get out and be social again. Society wanted to spend its money on soft goods, dining out and enjoying the retail experience that was so sorely missed in 2020. On the investment …
SAVANNAH, GA. — JLL Capital Markets has arranged the sale of Abercorn Walk, a 69,396-square-foot retail center in Savannah. Jim Hamilton, Brad Buchanan and Andrew Michols of JLL marketed the property on behalf of the seller. Chattanooga-based GBT Realty Corp. purchased the property for an undisclosed price. Abercorn Walk is anchored by The Fresh Market. Other tenants at the property include Ethan Allen, Soma Intimates, White House Black Market, Chico’s, Nadeau, Jos. A. Bank, J. Jill, Talbots, StretchLab and Cycle Bar. Located at 5525 Abercorn St., the property is situated 20 miles from Tybee Island and 14.5 miles from the Savannah/Hilton Head International Airport.
YONKERS, N.Y. — JLL has arranged a $230 million loan for the refinancing of Lionsgate Studios Yonkers, a 500,000-square-foot film production studio located on the northern outskirts of New York City. Proceeds will retire construction debt that financed Phase I of the studio’s development, which was completed in January. The borrower, a partnership between Connecticut-based National Resources and Great Point Capital Management, a media investment fund based in the United Kingdom, is also planning a $500 million expansion. When complete, the studio will house 11 soundstages — eight 20,000-square-foot stages, two 10,000-square-foot stages and a 30,000 square-foot stage — and will be the largest modern-built film and television production campus in the Northeast. The property will also include parking for more than 750 cars and 100 trucks. Michael Zaremski, Michael Shmuely, John Flynn and Jimmy Cochran of JLL arranged the five-year loan.
INDIANAPOLIS — Marcus & Millichap has brokered the sale of Thompson Commons in Indianapolis for $3.9 million. The 21,125-square-foot retail property, located at 5202 E. Thompson Road, is home to a five-tenant building as well as a freestanding urgent care building. Joel Dumes and Kyle Teets of Marcus & Millichap represented the seller, a limited liability company. The duo also secured and represented the buyer, an out-of-state limited liability company.
BETHESDA, MD. AND COSTA MESA, CALIF. — Bethesda-based retail real estate owner First Washington Realty (FWR) has purchased Donahue Schriber Realty Group Inc., a shopping center owner based in Costa Mesa. An affiliate of FWR acquired the private retail REIT and its portfolio of grocery-anchored, open-air centers from institutional investors advised by J.P. Morgan Global Alternatives. The transaction adds 47 shopping centers, as well as one DSRG-owned office property, for a combined 6 million square feet to FWR’s holdings. The sales price was not disclosed, but Bloomberg reported in February that the negotiations for the deal valued DSRG and its assets at north of $3 billion. The news outlet also reports that the California Public Employees’ Retirement System (CalPERS) was an equity partner with FWR on the deal and that JPMorgan Asset Management and the New York State Teachers’ Retirement System (NYSTRS) were among DSRG’s largest investors. For FWR, the deal expands its presence on the West Coast, including in high-profile markets such as the Bay Area, Orange County, Seattle, Portland, San Diego and Sacramento. The deal also expands FWR’s corporate base on the West Coast, as its executive management team now oversees DSRG’s existing offices in Orange County, San …
HEMET, CALIF. — SRA Real Estate Partners has arranged the sale of Ramona Plaza, a retail center located at 1300-1480 E. Florida Ave. in Hemet. A Southern California-based investor sold the asset to a California-based private investor for $13.9 million. Winston Guest, Matthew Mousavi and Patrick Luther of SRS Real Estate Partners’ National Net Lease Group represented the seller, while The Visintainer Group represented the buyer in the transaction. Built in 1974 on 6.4 acres, Ramona Plaza features 102,546 square feet of retail space. At the time of sale, the property was 88 percent occupied. Current tenant includes Grocery Outlet, Planet Fitness, Dollar Tree, Aaron’s, Leslie’s Poolmart, Subway and Little Caesars Pizza.
Cushman & Wakefield | PICOR Negotiates Sale of 45,556 SF Retail Space in Tucson, Arizona
by Amy Works
TUCSON, ARIZ. — Cushman & Wakefield|PICOR has arranged the sale of a retail space situated on six acres at 770 N. Kolb Road in Tucson. VRE Storage Tucson Kolb LLC acquired the asset from Century Theaters for $4 million. Greg Furrier of Cushman & Wakefield|PICOR represented the seller, while James Montgomery of Verdad represented the buyer in the deal. The asset features 45,556 square feet of retail space. It was formerly a discount movie theater that closed in March, according to the Arizona Daily Star.